On DVD: 'Rockford Files' finds right clue

Article by: MARK FEENEY , Boston Globe
Updated: January 18, 2008 - 4:04 PM

The Emmy-winning 1970s detective series, with its unflappable main character, was definitely onto something good.

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Why is it that they make movies out of crummy '70s TV series, such as "Starsky and Hutch" and "Charlie's Angels," but not good '70s television series?

Yes, there were some --and not only sitcoms. Where, for example, is the movie version of "The Rockford Files"?

Jim Rockford very much belongs in the great, shaggy tradition of the Los Angeles detective. Philip Marlowe is only the most famous. (James Garner, who played Rockford, took a swing at Raymond Chandler's creation in a 1969 film version of "The Little Sister.") There's also J.J. Gittes, Lew Archer, Joe Friday and Easy Rawlins.

Easy Rockford might be a more suitable name for Garner's character. Rockford has a relaxed unflappability that's a major factor in the show's appeal. Rockford's personality also owes something to Elliott Gould's take on Marlowe in Robert Altman's "The Long Goodbye" -- although the Malibu where Rockford parks his trailer is a lot different from the one Gould's Marlowe contends with.

The new DVD "The Rockford Files: Season Five" (Universal, $40) has 20 episodes on five discs, with no extras. Well, Rockford always was a no-frills sort of guy -- except for that answering machine, which opened each episode. Even if he didn't get much respect on the air, he did off-screen. The fifth season saw the show win an Emmy for outstanding drama.

It also looks ahead to another Emmy winner. "Sopranos" creator David Chase wrote the scripts for four episodes, including a memorable two-parter, "Black Mirror." How much do you want to bet that if he was stuck inside on a Friday night, the teenage Tony Soprano was watching "Rockford"?

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"Banacek" (Season 2), "Barney Miller" (Season 2), "ER" (Season 8), "The Game Plan," "The Girls Next Door" (Season 3), "Hawaii Five-O" (Season 3), "The Hunting Party," "Northanger Abbey," "The Odd Couple" (Season 3), "Saw IV," "Sydney White," "This Sporting Life," "Torchwood" (Season 1).